WordPress hosting is a service where a company provides you with a hosted server solution. This basically means you pay for a service and a server that will hold your WordPress files. In essence it’s where your WordPress website will live. There are many different kinds of hosts out there, including the services from WordPress directly.
As you can imagine these hosting companies all vary in speed, service and the features they can provide for you. They also all will provide you with their own pricing structure, and some of them are even as cheap as a dollar a month. As cheap as some of these WordPress hosting companies may be, it’s a good idea to remember that you always get what you pay for.
Most people starting out with WordPress can get confused with the term of WordPress hosting. If you are confused there’s an easy way to think about WordPress hosting. When you are working on any document on your computer and writing / creating a file, eventually you’ll need to save it. This is the same theme or idea behind WordPress hosting.
When you build a WordPress website and begin creating it, you’ll need a place to save it or host it. Your WordPress hosting company will be the place where your website files will stay, so that anyone on the Internet can come and see your installation.
Some people get into trouble especially when they decide to save a few pennies on their WordPress hosting. This can cause problems later on down the road, especially if you are working on a shared platform and need a dedicated one.
What is shared WordPress hosting?
Otherwise known as cloud computing, shared hosting means that you are sharing resources and hardware with possibly hundreds of over subscribers. This means that you’ve got a limit on bandwidth, memory and computing power. While shared hosting is cheap and affordable, it can be extremely slow when your website gets enough traffic and attention. If your website is slow, search engines will penalize you which is not what you want.
If you plan on your website getting enough traffic and having hundreds if not thousands of visitors a day, think about a dedicated host. This is a machine that’s dedicated to your website, where you won’t have to fight for resources and bandwidth.
Thinking about starting a website and not sure if WordPress is for you? Check out my services page if you are in need of a dedicated WordPress installation service.
